We had feared the white people but it was people we called neighbours we should have feared. Two men came one day while I was looking after the village children. They seemed to want to trade. Too late I realised that there were many more hiding outside, some holding what I later learnt were guns. I kicked and punched and screamed for the others in the field but my friends and family were too far away to help us.
This 19th century war trumpet may have been used both in battle and to warn of a possible attack. It is from the Congo and is made from ivory.
Slavery was accepted in African societies, however Europeans deliberately encouraged this trade to meet their own needs. Most Africans were sold into slavery by other Africans, many of who waged war with the purpose of kidnapping people to sell to the white traders.
White men swapped guns and ammunition for people. Some tribes became powerful using the weapons brought by white men and so altered the balance of power in West Africa.